Archive for the 'Television' Category

June 11th 2009

Apologies From Hell: Violent Pedophile Humor Dept.

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avid Letterman has apologized for suggesting that Sarah Palin’s daughter “got knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez during the 7th inning stretch at a Yankee game.  For those of you who have been visiting Pyongyang, here is the original, er, joke:

The fact that Willow, 14, attended the game, not Bristol, 18, was highly publicized on New York media and was common knowledge from New York to SoCal – but Letterman would like us to think that the Palin-bashers on his writing team were unaware, explaining:

We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter … and now they’re upset with me….  These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl…. Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No.

He then says he hopes he’s “cleared part of this up,” and graciously extends an invitation to Sarah Palin to be a guest on his show.  Why Sarah? Why not Bristol? Or Willow?

Let’s trust the flamingly liberal Letterman at his word (just pretend we’re fools who have suspended all knowledge of liberal behavior). Then we have to accept that making fun of the young (18) children of political candidates is acceptable.  Sasha and Malia, watch out; you could be next! Not. Ever. Redirecting the joke after the fact to Bristol protects Letterman from being a verbal pedophile, but it does not extend any modicum of good taste or decency to the man.

It’s hard to accept that no one on the Letterman team knew it was Willow at the game. This is almost certainly a weasley lie to cover up dispicable behavior – behavior that got a lot of laughs from his similarly dispicable audience.

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January 26th 2009

Your Government In Action

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uestion #1: Who’s big idea was it to put government in the middle of the digital TV conversion game? After all, the government doesn’t operate TV stations (yet), sell TVs (yet) or run cable/satellite systems (yet). But there they are, managing the consumers’ switch to a consumer product.

Question #2: Did anyone think they’d do it well? No, I thought not:

The Senate today approved a four-month delay in digital TV conversion. The Obama administration sought the delay because the government program to provide coupons for converter boxes needs more money. (AP)

Question #3:  Why should any federal money be required?  Is TV now a constitutionally guaranteed right, so every loser, meth head, spendthrift and bum (not to mention otherwise delightful poor people) is entitled to a government voucher if they can’t come up with the 12 cents or whatever that’s required for a converter?

Can we at least get them to pay us back when Obama starts sending them welfare checks tax refunds?

The broadcast industry, wisely, had no comment.  PBS offered up that the government goof would cause its network alone $22 million in extra power costs, since they’ll have to continue to have two systems fired up for another four months.  The total cost of this screw-up will be far, far greater.

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August 18th 2007

Adventure Or Exploitation?

In producing Kid Nation — an effort that required pulling 40 kids out of school and putting them on their own in New Mexico to fend for themselves without much adult supervision — CBS gets the “What were they thinking?!” award.

The breathless NYT expose reveals that the New Mexico venue was selected because the state doesn’t have laws covering child actors, that a state child welfare inspector was turned away, and that there was one medical emergency involving youngsters drinking bleach that someone had put in an unmarked soda bottle.

Surely, CBS could have seen this sort of criticism coming, and they’re lucky they got through the taping without something more sensational happening, because putting 40 kids, aged 8 to 15, in a difficult situation without adult supervision for 40 days is not exactly a formula for safety.

Still, I wish I could have had the experience when I was younger. I wish Incredible Daughter #3, who’s 12, could have been there. Kid Nation, while surely muted and soften somewhat by the unreality of “reality” TV, goes back in time to teach, through experience, lessons that are no longer well taught.

The children were made to haul wagons loaded with supplies for more than a mile through the New Mexico countryside, and they worked long hours — “from the crack of dawn when the rooster started crowing” until at least 9:30 p.m., according to Taylor, a 10-year-old from Sylvester, Ga., who was made available by CBS to respond to questions about conditions on the set.

The kids survived. They set up their own government, they made sure the work got done, the cooked and ate and figured out how to conquer adversity through inner strength and the power of community.

“Everyone usually had a job,” said Mike, an 11-year-old from Bellevue, Wash., who participated in the show. Among them were cooking, cleaning, hauling water and running the stores, where, he said: “It was hard work, but it was really good. It taught us all that life is not all play and no work.”

Taylor, from Georgia, agreed. “I learned I have to work for what I want,” she said.

Of course, some parents who thought it was a good idea to send their kids off to Kid Nation complained, leading to the NYT story and investigations into CBS’ conduct. That’s good — behavior like this needs to be investigated because there’s a very thin line between “reality” TV and child exploitation — but what are the complaining parents teaching their kids?

The kids just learned a lot about self preservation, strength and cooperation, only to have their parents teach them blame-shifting and victimhood.

Shame on them, even with the bleach. One of our kids drank some bleach once, so I know how terrifying that is, but this parent would have done his/her kid much better by saying, “Yeah, that’s too bad, and I’m glad you’re all right, but now you know to be careful about what you put in your mouth, right? If you smelled it, would you have drunk it?”

I may even watch this “reality” show. With ID#3 as company, since there are some good lessons here for her.

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With Obama winning the presidency by seven percent, we can't blame the media. Their laudatory coverage and refusal to extensively probe into Obama's background and [lack of] experience was at best responsible for five percent of his vote, the pundits tell us. Here is a compilation of over 100 significant instances of pro-Obama/anti-McCain bias during the 2008 campaign.

For all 'Media Bias 2008' – Click Here